Another test for Saints — one of NFL's best offenses at L.A. with key injuries on defense

New Orleans Saints defensive end Alex Okafor (57) is taken off the field on a cart after an injury in the second half against the Washington Redskins at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints won, 34-31 in overtime.(Photo: Chuck Cook/USA TODAY Sports)

This week, the Saints, 8-2 and leading the NFC South, will find out if they can win amid roster adversity when they play at Los Angeles, 7-3 and leading the NFC West. Kickoff is at 3:25 p.m. central time Sunday at the Coliseum on CBS.

New Orleans will be without starting right defensive end Alex Okafor, who tore his achilles tendon late in the Washington game and is out for the season, and may not have starting cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who injured his ankle early against the Redskins and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. Starting cornerback Ken Crawley also missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with an abdomen injury. Crawley played all but two snaps of the Washington game.

(Photo: The Associated Press)

Okafor, a free agent acquisition from the Arizona Cardinals in his fifth season out of Texas, is second on the team with 43 tackles and with 4.5 sacks and forced two fumbles. Lattimore, the Saints' 2017 first-round pick out of Ohio State, is second on the team in interceptions with two, including one return for a touchdown, and eighth in tackles with 36. Crawley, a second-year free agent signee out of Colorado, has one interception and 27 solo tackles on the season.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan celebrates after a sack against the Washington Redskins during overtime of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.(Photo: Derick E. Hingle, USA TODAY Sports)

"That's a tremendous loss," starting left defensive end Cameron Jordan said of Okafor Wednesday after practice. "He came in with so much juice."

Trey Hendrickson, the third of three Saints' third-round picks in the 2017 draft out of Florida Atlantic, will start in place of Okafor. Hendrickson had one tackle after replacing Okafor late in the game Sunday. He has 11 tackles and two sacks with a forced fumble in nine games.

"It's not like Trey's coming in cold," Jordan said. "He's been rotating in."

P.J. Williams, a third year cornerback out of Florida State who started earlier this season, is expected to start at cornerback along with possibly De'Vante Harris, a second-year free agent out of Texas A&M.

But the Saints bolstered their cornerback position early in the week with the addition of well-traveled, seven-year veteran Sterling Moore, who played regularly in 2016 for the Saints but was released just last month, and with Dexter McDougle, a three-year veteran and special teams ace who was released by Philadelphia last week.

"He is one of those players that knows what to do. He is familiar with our system. He has real good instincts," Saints coach Sean Payton said of Moore.

"He is someone that has excelled and played well in the kicking game," Payton said of McDougle. "He's smart and can play inside if you want him to. The snaps you can get from him is a big plus."

The Saints will have back starting fifth-year strong safety Kenny Vaccaro, who was held out of the Washington game as a precaution. He has missed the last two games after suffering a groin injury against Tampa Bay. He leads the team with three interceptions and has 39 tackles and seven passes defensed.

"I'm 100 percent," Vaccaro said Wednesday after practicing. "I could have played last week." He practiced Thursday on a limited basis.

Starting outside linebacker A.J. Klein is also expected to play Sunday after missing the Washington game with an ankle injury suffered against Buffalo the week prior. He is fifth on the team with 41 tackles and has a forced fumble.

"I'm doing good. I'm feeling good," he said after practicing on a limited basis Wednesday. "I feel like I have a good chance of playing Sunday. It's going to be day by day."

He practiced again Thursday on a limited basis.

The Saints will need replacements and/or injured starters at or near their best in Los Angeles. The Rams are fourth in the NFL in total offense with 375.4 yards a game behind running back Todd Gurley, who is fifth in the league with 791 yards and second-year quarterback Jared Goff, who is seventh in the NFL in passing with 2,610 yards and 16 touchdowns amid four interceptions.

"Goff looks different than last year," Klein said. "There's a reason he was drafted No. 1 overall (in 2016). He's not a slouch quarterback. He's a very good quarterback."

Gurley is no slouch either.

"Gurley is a physical runner who can hit the home run at any time," Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins said. "He catches the ball well out of the backfield. He pass protects. I mean, he's a complete back. There's a reason why he was picked so high in the draft (10th in 2015). There's a reason why their offense goes as he goes. We've got to try to neutralize him as best as possible. You're never going to be able to completely knock out a guy like that - just contain him as much as possible."

The Rams will be without top receiver Robert Woods, who leads his team with 47 catches for 703 yards an four touchdowns.

Without Lattimore, Vaccaro and Klein, the Saints allowed 456 yards to the Redskins — 130 yards over their current average of 326 a game.

"But they have great play makers all over," Rams' coach Sean McVay said on a teleconference. "Cameron Jordan is one of the best players in the league, I think they have great guys who are ready to step up and fill that void. You look at some of the experience they have in the secondary, but I think Lattimore's a star. He's one of the most explosive players on the team. He's a special player."